cloister garth

1 definition found

cloister garth - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Cloister \Clois"ter\, n. [OF. cloistre, F. clo[^i]tre, L.
     claustrum, pl. claustra, bar, bolt, bounds, fr. claudere,
     clausum, to close. See Close, v. t., and cf. Claustral.]
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     1. An inclosed place. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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     2. A covered passage or ambulatory on one side of a court;
        (pl.) the series of such passages on the different sides
        of any court, esp. that of a monastery or a college.
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              But let my due feet never fail
              To walk the studious cloister's pale. --Milton.
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     3. A monastic establishment; a place for retirement from the
        world for religious duties.
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              Fitter for a cloister than a crown.   --Daniel.
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     Cloister garth (Arch.), the garden or open part of a court
        inclosed by the cloisters.
  
     Syn: Cloister, Monastery, Nunnery, Convent, Abbey,
          Priory.
  
     Usage: Cloister and convent are generic terms, and denote a
            place of seclusion from the world for persons who
            devote their lives to religious purposes. They differ
            is that the distinctive idea of cloister is that of
            seclusion from the world, that of convent, community
            of living. Both terms denote houses for recluses of
            either sex. A cloister or convent for monks is called
            a monastery; for nuns, a nunnery. An abbey is a
            convent or monastic institution governed by an abbot
            or an abbess; a priory is one governed by a prior or a
            prioress, and is usually affiliated to an abbey.
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